1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for closing and sealing containers, and in particular, containers such as bags and casings, and clipping the ends thereof with a staple-like closure.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There has been much development in the food packing industry and particularly the sausage industry wherein sausage meat is stuffed in a continuous casing. Such methods include separating the stuffed continuous casing into predetermined lengths, and cutting, sealing and clipping the ends of the individual sausage chubs.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,377,692, Tipper, Apr. 16, 1968, and 3,543,378, Klenz, Dec. 1, 1970, describe typical clipping apparatuses for sealing and clipping the ends of sausage casings by first necking the continuous elongated filled casings at spaced points along their length to form chubs. One of the developments in the above-mentioned Tipper patent is the use of gathering plates or jaws to neck the casing at spaced points and then apply clips to the casing between the gathering plates. It is suggested in the patent that double clips can be provided between the gathering plates and that the casing can be cut therebetween. However, if enough space is left between the gathering plates to allow for dies for a double clip and for cutting apparatus, a mini-chub would be formed between the two sets of gathering plates. It is further found to be a disadvantage to have gathering plates moving in tracks on a fixed frame since the material being filled can collect in the tracks, creating frequent maintenance problems.